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You know a car has a beautiful form when you can change its scale dramatically without losing too much of the visual impact. Take this Aston Martin DB Junior convertible, which looks almost as good in miniature as its full-size I6-powerd incarnation does.

And if you're short on garage space, need a super-premium golf cart or are simply trying to raise your child without giving him any concept of the value of money, you can order one up. Various home delivery options are available.

The concept is basically the polar opposite of the one behind the adult-sized Cozy Coupe, but like the big Little Tikes cruiser, the wee Aston is also from England -- though its being sold through through an AM specialist, not some wacky custom garage.

And it has all the features of a grown-up Aston: coil-over suspension, electric start, lights all around plus indicators, horn, Brembo brakes...were this a kit car, we don't see any reason you couldn't get it registered for road use -- except maybe engine size. Its 110cc four-stroke is mated to a three-speed semi-auto gearbox. (Before you gripe about the lack of a clutch, though, remember that this only makes your Aston replica more accurate.) The rear wheels are driven, as Sir David Brown intended. The steering wheel is centrally mounted, just like a McLaren F1's.

Price? If you have to ask, etc. etc. We've heard reports of a $27,000 sticker, we're sure customization -- "1000s of options" for exterior paint, along with a choice of a leather or vinyl interior, are available -- doesn't come cheap. That's more than double than some mini-Porsches we've seen, but only around 1/44 the price of a real Aston Martin DB5 convertible.

That makes it a bargain in our books, especially for sophisticated, smug young bastards -- like the kid shown in the publicity video -- who know that pedal cars are so pedestrian (at least figuratively) and practically everyone is drifting around in modded Power Wheels. You can't put a price on the kind of exclusivity that comes standard with a toy car costing more than most peoples' daily drivers. And when junior isn't driving the junior, you can take a spin: "a fully adjustable pedal box to suit any size of driver, young or old!" is promised.

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
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